Post-Soviet life promised freedom. But these women are still hiding something

Thousands of Russian exiles including members of the LGBTIQ+ community have moved to Georgia since the invasion of Ukraine. But it remains a difficult place to be queer. Critics say this plays into Russia’s hands and undermines the nation's European aspirations.

Mother and daughter, Dadu (left) and Lana, by Lisi Lake in Tbilisi, Georgia. Credit: Colin Cosier/ SBS Dateline

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Dadu has been hiding her sexuality from all but her trusted family and friends her entire life.

Born in the Soviet Union where homosexuality was illegal, the 45-year-old came of age as her country, Georgia, newly emerged as an independent state. But it wasn’t until 2000 that Georgia decriminalised same-sex relations.

Her daughter Lana, 19, is also queer and has only known democratic Georgia. But like her mother, she learnt to conceal her sexuality, wary of homophobic attacks. Both mother and daughter asked not to use their last names.

“When you are queer, you are scared in this country,” Lana told SBS Dateline.

Officially, LGBTIQ+ people in Georgia are protected from discrimination by law. In reality, conservative values run deep in a society strongly influenced by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Instigated by far-right groups and clergy, angry mobs have stormed Pride events. The government and its supporters have been accused of pushing hateful rhetoric against “LGBT propaganda”.

Georgia, a nation of 3.7 million, was once lauded as a role model in the post-Soviet space for its anti-corruption reforms and a strong pro-western course.

In less than two years Georgia has seen an influx of Russian citizens fleeing due to various reasons including significant legal restrictions on the LGBTIQ+ community, conscription, economic isolation, and the broader fallout of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A long-time partner of the US-led North Atlantic military alliance, NATO, Georgia formally applied for membership in the European Union in 2022, immediately after the invasion began.

But the government’s seemingly pro-European stance has not matched its actions.

Critics have blamed the country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, for steering it back under Moscow’s sphere of influence as it tried to import Russia-style laws and stoke anti-gay sentiment.

Attacks on Georgia’s LGBTQ+ community

Veteran gay activist Giorgi Kikonishvili called 17 May 2013 “one of the most traumatic days in our lives”.

On that day, a mob of thousands of people broke through a police cordon and attacked a small gay rights rally on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia. Members of the Georgian Orthodox Church were part of the mob. A video recorded by local television showed a clergyman in full robes shouting instructions to the crowd: “Forget about non-violence. You’re obliged to be violent. For your homeland. For your country.”

Violence shook the LGBTQ+ community but also marked a turning point for Georgian society, Kikonishvili said.

“We all realised that we were facing a very huge problem, which was implemented there artificially with Russia, by the Russian propaganda, through the Georgian Orthodox Church and far-right groups,” he told SBS Dateline.

Gay activist Giorgi Kikonishvili at Klara Bar, a queer bar he co-owns in Tbilisi, Georgia. Credit: Colin Cosier, SBS Dateline

Kikonishvili was talking about Alt-Info, a right-wing, pro-Russian group that was responsible for the July 2021 attacks on LGBTQ+ activists at a Pride festival that was cancelled. Dozens of journalists who came to cover the event were beaten too, and one cameraman later died from injuries. The government did little to respond to violence.

The group has since launched a political party, Conservative Movement, that has opened offices across the country.

This year’s Pride event was called off after some 2,000 right-wing protesters, including members of the clergy, stormed the event. The organisers blamed Alt-Info and the Interior Ministry for “jointly orchestrating” the attack.

Georgia at political crossroads

An overwhelming majority of Georgians - 81 per cent - support EU membership, according to a 2023 poll by a US-based think tank, the National Democratic Institute. This comes in contrast with the 56 per cent who believe their government is either not doing enough or is doing nothing to ensure EU membership.

While Georgia’s accession to the EU is contingent on a number of key reforms, the Georgian government has been accused of backsliding on democracy.

In March, protests erupted in the capital Tbilisi against the so-called ‘foreign agents’ bill that targeted independent media and non-government organisations receiving foreign funding. Protesters likened it to a 2012 Russian law that was used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent. Eventually, the Georgian government was forced to withdraw it under public pressure.

Thousands of Georgians protested the so-called 'foreign agents' bill outside of Georgia's parliament in Tbilisi on 8 March 2023. Source: AFP / Vano Shlamov/AFP via Getty Images

Some government officials and the ruling party chairman spoke out against “LGBT propaganda”, which emboldened some hardline political figures and religious leaders to call for legislation to ban it - echoing Russia’s anti-LGBT propaganda law.

“This foreign agent law, this anti-LGBT propaganda law ... Sometimes I really think that [it] is done with the aim to sabotage Georgia's EU aspirations,” Kikonishvili said.

Critics like Kikonishvili allege that the party’s behaviour is linked to a desire to protect its vested interests in Russia.

The two nations cut diplomatic ties in 2008 following Russia’s invasion of Georgia. To this day, 20 per cent of Georgian territory remains occupied. Georgian Dream, which came to power in 2012, has maintained a “pragmatic policy” towards Russia and, at times, has been accused of appeasement.

The man behind the ruling party is billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose wealth Forbes estimated at US$4.9 billion ($6.6 billion) made in banking, real estate and metals in Russia. The former prime minister, Ivanishvili, resigned from politics but continues to influence it.

In 2022, Transparency International, an anti-corruption watchdog, found that he still owned business in Russia through offshore firms.

“He has a very close business relationship with Russia, and relationships like this don’t stop in just a second,” Kikonishvili said.

“Whatever is on their mind, they're clearly trying to sell the future of the country.”

Asked what they would do if a so-called gay propaganda bill were to be introduced in Georgia one day, Dadu and Lana said they would look to leave the country.

“I don't want to go, because I see my future here,” Lana said.

“But if that kind of thing happened, I would definitely have to leave because I don't want to live in danger.

I am tired of living in danger.”